If your home is your castle, what does that make your car? At least it is your mode of transportation; at best, it is your castle away from home. What does your car say about you? Does it have spunk, personality, a name, a recognizable feature? Do you have your family in vinyl on the back window? Are you the Apple family, or is the car covered in political bumper stickers?
A bumper sticker found recently on the back of a pretty beat up car driven by a rough looking character, “don’t judge me because my sins are different than yours”. Ah the wisdom found in bumper stickers. What about hitch ball covers for relaying your patriotism, a mock up of your favorite politician or other novelty souvenirs to complete your vehicles ensemble. Hitch ball covers are a great way to protect that hitch when your ATV’s, motorcycles, mountain bikes, road bike, RV or boat aren’t attached.
Where did bumper stickers come from and how long have they hanging on the backs of cars? Well, the first cars did not have bumpers so that counts out the Ford Model T’s. The first car that actually had a bumper sticker was the Ford Model A. The first bumper stickers were not actually stickers, they were held to the bumpers by wires, like little flags. These appeared shortly before World War II. By using pressure sensitive adhesive, Forest P. Gill, a printer from Kansas City designed the first bumper stickers.
The first promotional campaign simple read, “See Rock City”. This was a promotional ploy for attracting tourist to Lookout Mountain in Tennessee. In the 1940’s tourist to the site had the signs attached to their cars. These were actually placed on cars by the Rock City staff in parking lots using thin aluminum strips that wrapped around the bumpers.
With the use of adhesion, bumper stickers became more widely used. Varying cultures use their cars to display their stickers loud and proud in a range of usage. For instance, in Israel, one of their most popular songs is composed entirely from bumper sticker slogans. The song is titled Shirat Hasticker or The Sticker Song. Swedes place their stickers on their back windows not on their bumpers.
Not only are stickers popular on cars but the tradition has morphed into chrome emblems that are imbedded in the body of the car. A great example of this is the famous ichthys fish symbol. This symbol represents Christianity and is seen widely on a diversity of cars.
Do you like novelty souvenirs? Do you use your car as an extension of your personality? Do you want an Obama or Romney hitch ball cover on your car? The web can help you make your roving castle your own.